Impact of Horizontal Edge–Interior and Vertical Canopy–Understory Gradients on the Abundance and Diversity of Bark and Woodboring Beetles in Survey Traps

Abstract

Simple Summary

Traps baited with sex attractants and plant odors are used by regulatory agencies to survey for alien invasive forest insects that may arrive via importation of goods from overseas. The performance of these surveys is affected not only by the type of traps and attractants used, but also by where the traps are placed at survey sites. We tested the effect of trap position along horizontal (relative to the forest edge) and vertical (canopy-understory) forest gradients on the diversity and abundance of species of bark and wood boring beetles detected. Both horizontal and vertical trap position affected trap performance, but trends differed among taxa and were context-dependent. For example, jewel beetles were detected mainly in canopy traps regardless of horizontal position, whereas bark and ambrosia beetles were detected mainly in understory traps placed along the forest edge. For optimal early detection of potentially invasive bark and wood boring beetles, surveys should place traps at multiple locations along horizontal and vertical gradients.

Abstract

Semiochemical-baited intercept traps are important tools used to collect information about the presence/absence and population dynamics of forest insects. The performance of these tools is influenced by trap location along both horizontal edge–interior and vertical understory–canopy gradients. Consequently, the development of survey and detection programs requires both the development of effective traps and semiochemical lures but also deployment protocols to guide their use. We used field trapping experiments to examine the impact of both horizontal edge–interior and vertical understory–canopy gradients and their interactions with the species richness and abundance of Buprestidae, Cerambycidae and Curculionidae. Both gradients had significant effects on the diversity and abundance of all three families collected in traps and the pattern of gradient effects differed between the two experiments. In the first experiment, traps were deployed along transects involving large (>100 m) forest gaps and in the second experiment traps transected small (ca. 15 m) forest gaps. These results were consistent with the idea that gradient effects on the abundance and diversity of these three families of forest Coleoptera are context dependent. The results of this study suggest that monitoring programs for bark and woodboring beetles should deploy traps at multiple locations along both vertical understory–canopy and horizontal edge–interior gradients.